A loaf of white bread (depending on the type and weight) in the USSR cost from 13 to 25 kopecks. A loaf of black bread, respectively, from 16 to 18 kopecks. A kilogram of the first grade in state stores could cost 1 ruble 60 kopecks, and a kilogram of the second grade (with bones) for 1 ruble 40 kopecks. The same meat in cooperative stores or markets was more expensive - 2 rubles 90 kopecks per kilogram. Pork in state stores was sold at a price of 1 ruble 80 kopecks, and in cooperatives and markets its price reached 3 rubles 50 kopecks.
However, it was not always possible to buy meat in state stores. In many regions of the USSR there was a persistent shortage of this food product.
Boiled sausages of the most common varieties, which were mainly found on sale, “Doctorskaya” and “Lyubitelskaya” cost, respectively, 2 rubles 20 kopecks and 3 rubles 20 kopecks per kilogram. Ham, if it was found on the shelves of state stores, could be purchased at a price of 3 rubles 50 kopecks per kilogram.
It should be noted that at that time, sausages and ham were produced in strict accordance with GOST standards and contained exclusively high-quality natural ingredients.
A liter of milk cost an average of 40 kopecks, a kilogram pack - 1 ruble 60 kopecks, and a kilogram of granulated sugar - 90 kopecks. A 3-kilogram bag of potatoes could be bought for 33 kopecks.
At what price were non-essential products sold?
Almost all segments of the population, even low-income ones, had access to not only basic food, but also all kinds of delicacies. The cheapest (but very tasty and high-quality) berry-based ice cream cost 7 kopecks per serving. A briquette of “Ice cream” cost from 13 to 20 kopecks. Various pies, buns, and cakes could be purchased at prices ranging from 6 to 22 kopecks per piece.
A very popular product in the USSR, vodka was sold at prices ranging from 3 rubles 62 kopecks to 4 rubles 12 kopecks for a 0.5 liter bottle. And in the summer heat, you could quench your thirst with a glass of draft kvass for 3 kopecks or a carbonated drink with syrup from a street machine for the same price. The same machine could dispense a portion of just sparkling water, that is, without syrup, for just 1 kopeck. There was not the abundance of goods on sale that can be found today, but people could do without them.
It is often postulated that the population of the USSR suffered from food shortages and starved. Hunger supposedly disappeared only in post-Soviet Russia. When discussing this thesis, anti-communist-minded publicists tend to speculate on the topic of the “Soviet deficit,” ignoring the essence and causes of this phenomenon. Examples of using
“Once at the Dorogomilovsky market I went into a kiosk with sausages, the prices seemed reasonable compared to other stores, but the appearance of the products was very beautiful. I ask the saleswoman: “I suppose everything is made from French meat?” And she is already old and answers me: “Your meat remains in the Union, where will the meat processing plant get it now?” And then, damn it, standing nearby, an intellectual of about forty years old, wearing glasses, an obvious Muscovite, butts into our conversation: “But in the USSR, sausage could only be bought with coupons!” We look at him with the saleswoman and don’t know what to say - after all, judging by his years, he must remember everything. But he looks absolutely sincere - he is absolutely sure that he starved in the USSR."
Reality
First of all, we will try to turn to the real statistics of food consumption on the territory of the USSR in the period before and after the collapse. Here and below we use statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which records the production and consumption of agricultural products around the world. This is convenient in the sense that PSHO uses a general standard for accounting for products, the mass of which is calculated on the basis of primary statistical data without taking into account the national specifics of how they are reflected in directories. The evolution of the standard for presenting PSC data in the period under review is minimal.
Below are data on food consumption by Soviet and post-Soviet citizens: their total calorie content, as well as the mass of meat and milk consumed.
As can be seen from the table above, the situation was completely opposite to the myth. During the period of the collapse of the country and economic reforms, the nutrition of the population deteriorated significantly: the total calorie content of food decreased by 15% over 5 years of reforms, animal foods, the most important in terms of the body’s receipt of proteins - by 30%, consumption of animal meat - by 37%, dairy products – by 31%.
The root of the myth is in the memories of the crisis period at the end of the Soviet era at the end of 1990 - 1991, when the established trade systems were disrupted due to the growth of separatism and the destruction of economic ties. It cannot be said that the products disappeared in the country, but their distribution has become sharply complicated for political reasons. This is what caused a 10% decline in consumption in 1991.
Over the subsequent years of reforms, not only absolute consumption, but also the country’s place in the world in terms of nutrition level has radically changed. Here are comparative data on meat consumption in a number of civilized countries in 1990 and 2002 (kg per year).
This situation was typical not only for the capital and Central Russia. Modern studies of consumption in the Soviet Urals give a similar picture 3). Checking data on the level of food consumption according to internal party documents of a number of regions gives a picture no worse than UN statistics).
The information about deteriorating nutrition is consistent with other data on consumption in modern Russia. In particular, reports from military commissariats on the condition of conscripts passing the commission. According to media reports: “The head of the Central Military Medical Commission of the Ministry of Defense, Major General of the Medical Service Valery Kulikov, said that during the spring conscription of 2006, more than 40 thousand conscripts received deferments from military service due to lack of body weight. “Conscripts with low or insufficient body weight are now becoming the number one problem for all regions of Russia. Judge for yourself, during the current spring conscription alone, 41 thousand conscripts received deferments from military service due to lack of body weight or, in other words, due to chronic malnutrition. This is more than 30% of the total number of those 125.5 thousand recruits who are called up for service in the spring."
Almost the same information is provided by sociological studies conducted in Russia: “21% of Russians responded that over the past 12 months they sometimes had to go hungry. Every third resident of the Far Eastern Federal District (31%) said this - this is the highest figure in the sample. In large cities with a population of 500 thousand to 1 million people, respondents also often spoke about malnutrition - 26% of respondents sometimes experienced hunger. ... Thus, the Russian survey results on the problem of hunger and malnutrition - 30% - are comparable with data obtained in countries such as Nicaragua - 33%, Pakistan - 32% and Ghana - 32%).
In other CIS countries the situation is no better. According to PSHO experts, “from 20 to 40% of the population in the CIS countries are currently hungry”).
It is this uneven distribution of products that explains the phenomenon of modern “full counters”, to which reform apologists appeal. At the moment, almost a third of the population, due to lack of financial resources, restricts themselves in nutrition, which has a detrimental effect even on the health of the younger generation, which, within the framework of existing traditions, is the object of greatest care in the family. Simply put, the population cannot buy up products put up for sale, which eliminates the possibility of shortages, queues and the problem of “getting” food products.
In Soviet times, due to state-subsidized prices, demand was extremely high, due to the fact that household incomes outpaced production growth8). As part of social support for the population in the USSR, a systematic increase in the incomes of citizens was carried out, and the growth of the money supply often outpaced the growth of real production: in the 1960-1970s, twice as much, during the period of perestroika - three times9).
Balance and the elimination of queues could be ensured either by a sharp increase in prices, which would exceed the growth in income of the population, or by the introduction of a card system and rationed distribution of food, i.e. through directive or economic restrictions on consumption. The refusal to do this can be explained both by the direct fear of the Soviet leadership of popular discontent, and by a conscious choice in favor of the inconvenience associated with the trade deficit, rather than reducing consumption.
The last decision was to some extent a reflection of the objective position of the people, which can be assessed from the data below. At least theoretically, any citizen of the USSR had a choice: to purchase food at “store” prices, subsidized by the state, in an atmosphere of cronyism and queues, or to purchase food through the consumer cooperation system or directly at collective farm markets, where prices by the end of the Soviet period were 2 .57 times higher than in state trade. According to sociological studies of the 1980s, 35% of residents of regional centers bought food at markets, 37% - in consumer cooperatives 10).
Let me cite the memories of a contemporary: “Starting in 1979, when I was seven years old, my mother regularly took me with her to the Butyrsky collective farm market. The market rows with food abundance made a strong impression. As I remember now, fresh meat for 3-5 rubles per kilogram, potatoes for 20 kopecks, pineapples and watermelons in the middle of winter... Year after year we bought honey from an Old Believer from the Pskov region, greens - always from the same Georgians: marjoram, tarragon , basil, chives, thyme, wild garlic; If my mother bought two or three rubles worth of goods from them, the traders would give me a churchkhela candle as a gift. We took vegetables from my grandmother from Iksha near Moscow, dairy products from an old man in Volokolamsk”11).
However, according to sociologists: “The higher the level of average per capita total income of a family, the more meat products it bought in state stores...”12). Those. Despite their financial capabilities, many residents of the USSR made a conscious choice in favor of saving money, but this was associated, however, with stress and loss of time in queues.
The correctness of the Soviet choice in favor of uncontrolled consumption does not seem obvious. Along with shortages, the problem of queues and the black market, this policy created the need for a constant increase in food production. In Russian conditions, an important limitation on this path is the cold climate, which places strict limits on agricultural work13) and requires increased feed for domestic animals14). Under these conditions, the export of grain to the USSR, harshly condemned by modern journalism, arose due to the growth of exports of goods whose production is less limited by climate (machines, electricity, chemical products).
However, despite the difficulties listed above, in order to analyze the negative and positive features of the Soviet past, it is important to realize the fact that the level of nutrition in the USSR was very good by international standards and significantly exceeded the modern one.
History of food consumption in the USSR in 1960-1980. in comparison with foreign countries is described in more detail in this article15).
Schools in the USSR were very different from modern ones. And the Soviet school had one peculiarity. Common school uniform for the whole country. The most interesting thing is that the uniform of those times is still popular among graduates - a school dress with a white apron, usually white knee socks and the obligatory white bows. On ordinary days, girls went to school in dark aprons. The boys had an emblem on the sleeves of their jackets, which depicted an open book and the sun. At that time, everyone was either an October warrior, or a pioneer, or a Komsomol member, and they always wore a corresponding badge on the lapel of their jacket or dress. In the 1st grade, all schoolchildren were accepted into the October class. In the 3rd - to the pioneers. Moreover, first of all, excellent students, and secondly and even thirdly - those whose academic performance or discipline were lame. I was accepted into the Komsomol in the 7th grade.
In the 80s, every more or less large enterprise had its own pioneer camp, where they sent the children of their employees. The vast majority of Soviet children have visited a country pioneer camp at least once. In addition, in all cities, as a rule, at schools, “urban” camps were created with daytime stay for children. Each suburban pioneer camp operated in three shifts, each lasting approximately three weeks. All children in the pioneer camp were divided into groups according to age. The 1st detachment was the oldest. Then 2nd, 3rd, etc. Various children's amateur groups based on their interests worked in the pioneer camps, and the military sports game “Zarnitsa” was held. During the shift, various games, hikes, competitions were held in the camp... At the end of each summer shift, a “Farewell Bonfire” was organized.
The selection of products in grocery and department store stores in the 80s was far from amazing in its variety. Residents of all nearby cities went to Moscow to buy food. At this time, in 1985, a new scourge fell on the heads of Soviet citizens: the anti-alcohol campaign. All over the country, all alcohol disappeared from store shelves, restaurants and cafes. Of course, Soviet holidays did not become alcohol-free. People switched to moonshine, cologne, medical alcohol and other home-made booze.
In the Soviet assortment there was a clear shortage of products that could simply be pulled out of the refrigerator and eaten - sausages, cheeses, pates, not to mention some caviar or ham. Even sprats were a delicacy that was given in sets for the holiday. And only in Moscow, after standing in a long line, it was possible to buy sausages, salami or ham and not worry about tea and sandwiches for several days... In provincial cities it was practically impossible to get them. And this despite the fact that in many cities meat processing plants were operating at full capacity!
They brought good chocolates from Moscow - “Squirrel”, “Bear Bear”, “Little Red Riding Hood”. They brought instant coffee, oranges, lemons and even bananas. Moscow seemed like a fabulous place where extraordinary people live. We also went to Moscow to buy clothes and shoes. In Moscow they bought everything, from buckwheat to children's tights, because... all this was in short supply in the middle zone.
Grocery stores of that time had several departments. Each department sold its own product groups. It was worse if the department sold goods by weight. First, you had to stand in line to weigh the goods, then line up at the cash register, get a receipt, and then line up again at the department. There were also self-service supermarkets - like today's ones. There, goods were paid for at the checkout when leaving the hall. At that time, every schoolchild went to buy milk. Due to the scarcity of product range in stores at that time, milk and dairy products occupied a fairly significant place in the diet of Soviet people. Porridge was cooked in milk. Noodles and horns were cooked with milk. In the USSR, dairy products were packaged in glass containers, which were washed and handed over at special collection points for glass containers. As a rule, they were right next to the stores. There were no labels on the bottles. The label was on the lid. Milk bottles were closed with caps made of soft foil of different colors. The name of the product, date of manufacture, and cost were written on the lid.
Sour cream was sold on tap from large metal cans. There were several types of butter - butter and sandwich. Loose butter cost 3 rubles 40 kopecks per kilogram, and a pack of butter cost 72 kopecks. Milk in the Soviet Union was made from milk! There was sour cream in the sour cream, kefir in the kefir, and butter in the butter. At lunchtime, as a rule, fresh milk, bread and some other products were brought to each grocery store. Therefore, when the store opened after the lunch break, it was often possible to buy everything specified by the parents. You could also buy ice cream!
The iconic dairy product in the USSR was condensed milk. Children's favorite treat. Condensed milk produced in the USSR was packaged in tin cans with white and blue labels. They drank it straight from the can, punching two holes with a can opener. It was added to coffee. It was boiled directly in a closed jar to be eaten boiled or used for cake. During the time of food shortages at the end of the USSR, condensed milk, along with stewed meat, was included in holiday food packages distributed according to coupons and lists in individual organizations, as well as to certain categories of citizens who had benefits by law (participants and disabled people of the Great Patriotic War, etc.).
It was difficult to buy a good outfit, so we looked for decent fabric in advance and went to an atelier or to a familiar dressmaker. If a man, in preparation for the holiday, only had to exchange his home workouts for a shirt, and, perhaps, as a sign of special affection, shave, then it was much more difficult for a woman. And she could only rely on her own ingenuity and skillful hands. They used: henna, hydrogen peroxide, curlers. “Leningrad” mascara was mixed with flour and applied to the eyelashes. Using various household dyes, flesh-colored nylon tights were dyed black. The height of fragrant chic was the Klima perfume, the bottom limit was the Perhaps perfume. A man was supposed to smell too, but the choice was even smaller: “Sasha”, “Russian Forest”, “Triple”.
There was very little cosmetics in the USSR, and if there was, they didn’t buy it, but “got it out.” Mascara was produced in pressed form and had to be diluted with water before use. However, water was not always at hand, so Soviet fashionistas simply spat into a box of mascara. The most desperate ones separated their eyelashes with needles or pins. Women in the 80s had a practice of using cosmetic products “inappropriately.” Many women already then figured out the current fashionable technique among makeup artists - using lipstick as blush. An even complexion was ensured by the legendary cosmetic product of those years - the Ballet foundation from the Svoboda factory. Instead of colorless lipstick, Vaseline was usually used, and instead of hand cream, glycerin was used, which could almost always be bought at the pharmacy.
The object of particular desire was the Este Lauder Blush from the company store, which could only be accessed by special invitation. All women of that time dreamed of Lancôme “golden roses” and Dior powders and lipsticks packaged in blue boxes. If you ask ladies whose youth occurred during these years, they will remember the perfume “Climat” and the legendary fragrance “Magie Noire” from Lancôme, as well as “Opium” from YSL and “Fidji” from Guy Laroche. Most Soviet women knew about the famous “Chanel No. 5” only by hearsay, and a very small number of ladies used them in real life.
Traditional dishes on holidays were Olivier salads, Herring under a fur coat, Mimosa, fried homemade cutlets, made sandwiches with sprats, cooked jellied meat, baked chicken, and homemade marinades. One of the most important dishes on the festive table was cake, which was very difficult to buy. Most often they baked homemade Napoleon. The drinks were not particularly varied: “Soviet champagne”, “Stolichnaya” vodka, “Buratino” lemonade, fruit juice and compote. In the late 80s, Pepsi-Cola and Fanta began to appear on tables. The festive table was always prepared thoroughly, even if no guests were expected, and the celebration took place in the family circle!
For the New Year, a Christmas tree was installed in every house. A garland of multi-colored lights was arranged on the tree and Christmas decorations were hung - shiny glass balls of different colors, satellites, icicles, bears and bunnies made of cardboard, coated with varnish and glitter, snowflakes, beads and crackers. Below, under the tree, Santa Claus made of papier-mâché was installed on pre-laid gauze or cotton wool! A star was placed on the top of the tree.
The choice of gifts for the holidays was very limited. In the absence of normal gifts, when going on a visit, they carried with them whatever delicacies they could get, jars of canned exotic fruits, black or red caviar, and chocolates. You could buy a book, a bottle of perfume, an electric razor, etc. Parents brought children's New Year's gifts from work. The trade union committee consistently provided parents with children's gifts - one for each child under 14 years of age. For holiday parties, firecrackers and sparklers were purchased - at that time this was the only “pyrotechnics” with the help of which they kept the fun going. Only rocket launchers, which not everyone had, could add variety to such fun.
Almost every New Year, films were shown on television: “An Ordinary Miracle” and “Sorcerers.” The main New Year's film is “The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath.” Many already knew these films by heart, but nevertheless enjoyed watching them again. On New Year's Eve, everyone traditionally gathered around a festively laid table, said goodbye to the old year and welcomed the new one. We watched TV, listened to music. And in the morning, after the “Blue Light,” “Melodies and Rhythms of Foreign Pop” was shown on TV for the only time a year! Boney M, Abba, Smokie, Africe Simone.…
In the 80s there was no entertainment other than the cinema, bar or dancing. Bars and cafes were not open at night. Soviet or Indian films were shown in cinemas. The main activity for young people, besides drinking port wine at the entrance, studying well and joining the Komsomol, was dancing, and they called it a disco. The music at the discos was collected from everything that came to us “from there” mixed with the best that we had. Alla Pugacheva tried to stand out from the crowd with her airy, vast robes, and Valery Leontyev scared elderly grandmothers with his terribly tight trousers. The discos featured: Forum, Mirage, KarMan, Laskovyi Mai, Na-Na and a performer parodying Western musical performers, Sergei Minaev. In addition to dance groups, the groups “Sunday” and “Time Machine” were popular. Hits of famous foreign musical groups and performers were heard more and more often: Modern Talking, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Scorpions and others.
How old were you in the 80s? 10? 15? 20? Do you remember the atmosphere of general goodwill and mutual respect that reigned in Soviet times? Inner peace, awareness of life goals and ways to achieve them. Confidence in everything for decades to come. An opportunity to take a worthy place in life. Do you remember how in May everyone went to demonstrations? Everyone took to the streets with balloons and flags, congratulated each other and shouted “HURRAY!” And the children were placed on the shoulders. Rubber bands in the yard.... Collecting scrap metal and waste paper at school.... Community work days.... Subscription to the magazines "Funny Pictures", "Pioneer", "Crocodile", "Science and Life".... Do you remember school “dance evenings”, discos in pioneer camps, in cultural centers? Songs that were carefully copied from cassette to cassette and listened to “to the holes.” Songs that we went to listen to at each other’s houses...
In general, music in the USSR was considered something unnecessary for the daily life of a citizen, a kind of acceptable surplus (except, of course, for songs performed by a choir - at a pioneer line, in military formation, etc.). Therefore, devices for playing and recording music were treated more like things closer to luxury items than everyday items. Most houses had record players. Musical recordings in the USSR were sold on Melodiya records. Records with fairy tales for children were also produced. Entire generations grew up in the USSR listening to fairy tales recorded on records. It was quite difficult to “get” records with recordings of popular pop singers at that time.
In the eighties, most residents of the USSR acquired tape recorders. There were queues for especially fashionable ones, like Vega and Radiotekhnika. Domestic reel-to-reel film and cassettes were also everywhere. The tape recorders were extremely expensive. By the mid-80s, the USSR had learned to produce pretty good reel-to-reel tape recorders. They didn't break down often and didn't produce the worst sound. However, who in those years wanted a reel-to-reel tape recorder? They were bulky, non-transportable, and even the process of loading the film itself required a certain skill. But most importantly, by that time reels were already rapidly being replaced by cassettes. Soon, among youth and teenagers, the reel-to-reel tape recorder was considered a hopeless archaism.
Soviet tape recorders, accessible to most, like Soviet cassettes, were simply terrible. The film in Soviet cassettes was comparable to a tape recorder. It could provide only very modest recording quality, and if you tried to re-record frequently, it quickly broke down. But the tape recorders really liked this film! They chewed it with great pleasure at every opportunity. This case was shrewdly provided for by cassette manufacturers, and therefore there were often no screws on their casing.
The height of desire for music lovers, of course, were Japanese tape recorders - Sharp, Sony, Panasonic. They stood proudly on the shelves of thrift stores, flaunting breathtaking price tags. Imported goods (in small quantities entering the USSR market) were perceived by the population as “prestigious” and of high quality. There were virtually no cheap imports, including “Chinese” ones, at that time. Tape recordings were re-recorded from cassette to cassette, and therefore double-cassette tape recorders were especially valued.
In stores, along with Soviet ones, imported cassettes were also sold, and of a variety of brands. They all cost exactly the same - nine rubles for a 90-minute cassette. Imported cassettes were called by sonorous names of manufacturers - Basf, Denon, Sony, Toshiba, TDK, Agfa. The masterpiece of the domestic manufacturer was named without the slightest glimmer of imagination - MK, which meant nothing more than a tape cassette.
For certain categories of consumers (the so-called “nomenklatura” - party, Soviet and economic officials) privileges were introduced in the supply, including goods in short supply (order tables, “200th section of GUM”, a special service store on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, etc. ). Personal pensioners (a privileged category of pensioners), depending on the category of their personal pension, received “grocery orders” constantly or for holidays, and could buy goods inaccessible to the rest of the population in closed distributors. There were a number of parallel systems of trade (distribution of goods) with privileged supplies and limited access: for example, WWII veterans and those equivalent to them; Doctors of Science, Corresponding Members and Academicians.
GUM had closed sections for high-ranking officials and other privileged categories of the nomenklatura, party leaders, and generals. The Beryozka currency stores traded scarce goods for “checks” (certificates), for which it was necessary to exchange the foreign currency in hand. It should be noted that the quality of goods in these stores was excellent: they did not sell rubbish. In addition to the assortment of food and consumer goods, there were other “departments” in this network - in which you could purchase furniture, appliances, furs, and even cars. In 1988, a decree of the USSR Council of Ministers was published stating that from July 1, the circulation of Vneshposyltorg checks would cease and the Beryozka stores would be closed forever. Monstrous queues lined up at “Berezok”; literally everything was frantically swept off the shelves! The owners of the checks tried by any means to get rid of them before the announced closure date. Citizens of the USSR received the right to legally own foreign currency and, accordingly, spend it only in 1991.
There were also “speculators” (farmers) in the USSR. “Farza” is a synonym for the word “speculation” (purchase and sale for the purpose of profit), and “fartsovschiki” are, accordingly, speculators who bought “branded” (foreign) goods cheaper in order to later sell them at a higher price. Various segments of the population of the USSR were engaged in the craft of “fartsovka”: foreign sailors and flight attendants, military personnel of foreign contingents of the SA and students, taxi drivers and prostitutes, athletes and artists, party officials and ordinary Soviet engineers. In general, everyone who had even the slightest opportunity to purchase scarce imported goods for subsequent resale. But the biggest money was in circulation with the “currency traders” (currency traders). Currency traders paid special attention to the Beryozka chain of stores. For some currency traders, games with the state ended sadly.
Fartsellers were divided into professionals who were constantly engaged in this business (being listed as some kind of watchman somewhere), and amateurs who occasionally sold foreign items that they accidentally got, which they “pushed” (sold) among friends or handed over to “komki” (commission the shops). But there were always Soviet citizens who wanted to wear a foreign item and were willing to pay exorbitant prices for it.
A separate supply system for military personnel and their families was carried out through Voentorg. There were also so-called “Salons for newlyweds” - coupons were issued for the purchase of goods of the appropriate range (rings, dresses and suits, etc.) in them, according to a certificate from the registry office. Sometimes, young people registered at the registry office as newlyweds, only for the purpose of purchasing scarce goods. But by the end of the 80s, these salons began to be filled with consumer goods and ceased to justify their purpose due to the lack of scarce goods in them. At industrial enterprises at that time there was also a system of supplying workers with scarce goods - “food rations”.
Soviet trade workers, by virtue of their profession, received privileged access to scarce goods. Scarce goods were hidden for “the right people”, or under the guise of benefit they were sold at exorbitant prices. A whole set of terms for such trade has appeared: “trading from the back door”, “from under the counter”, “under the counter”, “through connections”. The resale of scarce goods at free prices in the USSR was classified as a criminal offense (“speculation”).
To purchase a scarce product, which was often put on the counter suddenly, as they said, “thrown away,” it was necessary to stand in line, or even several lines, for each type of product separately. Many people always carried a special string bag with them for such an occasion (“just in case”), since there were no plastic bags for sale in grocery stores and these bags themselves were a scarce commodity. People invented many ways to avoid days of exhausting standing in lines, which also did not guarantee the purchase of goods. For example, it was possible to break into a store using brute physical force.
Places in the queue were sold (the price depended on how close to the head of the queue the place was, how scarce the goods were) - there was even a saying “If you stand in line well, you don’t have to work,” you could hire a “waiter” who I would stand in line for you. Durable goods were also “signed up on a waiting list.” There were certain days for registration, and in order to get on the list, people lined up in the evening, working shifts with relatives overnight, so that in the morning, by the time the registration began, they would be as close as possible to the top of the list. Moreover, the entry was of an incomprehensible nature: in addition to checking in at the store, you also had to come and check in with strange, enterprising people on certain days, so as not to be crossed off the list. In order not to forget the three-four-digit number during roll call, it was written down with a pen on the palm of the hand.
Nowadays, the Soviet Union is either idolized or fiercely hated, and debates about where life was better - in the USSR, or in present-day Russia - have not subsided to this day. The USSR had its advantages in the form of free housing, education and healthcare, very low prices for food, medicine and transport.
The student's scholarship in 1983 was 40-55 rubles. The increased stipend is 75 rubles, really big, five rubles more than the salary of a cleaner or technician. The minimum wage was 70 rubles. Salaries, as a rule, were paid 2 times a month: advance and pay. The advance was usually made on the 20th of each month; it was a fixed amount. And for settlement they gave out what was left after the advance was deducted. The salaries of teachers and doctors in the USSR were low. Nurses received 70 rubles, head nurse 90. Doctors received 115-120 rubles, they were allowed to work at one and a half, two “rates”. At a defense enterprise, at so-called “secret” facilities, a salary of 140 rubles could be given to a young specialist immediately after graduation.
Many of us were born in the era of the existence of a powerful state - the Soviet Union. Some earlier, some later. This time can be remembered in different ways - positively, neutrally or negatively. But the following facts remain indisputable. In the 80s, you could live on three rubles for a week. Butter cost 62 kopecks per 200 grams, bread 16 kopecks. The most expensive sausage is 3 rubles and kopecks. Ticket for a trolleybus, bus, tram - 5 kopecks. For one ruble you could buy a full lunch in the canteen (borscht, goulash with mashed potatoes, a glass of sour cream, compote, cheesecake); 33 glasses of lemonade with syrup; 100 boxes of matches; 5 cups of “Ice cream” or 10 cups of milk ice cream; 5 liters of bottled milk. And, most importantly, prices did not rise every day, but were stable! This is probably where the majority of the population has nostalgia for those times. Confidence in today and tomorrow is a great thing!
They say that Soviet man is a utopia, that he did not exist, no, and cannot exist. But there are our memories of Soviet times. About ordinary Soviet people. About what surrounded ordinary Soviet people... In general, in recent years it has begun to seem to many that there used to be more hopes, more expectations of something bright and wonderful. Somehow people treated each other warmer. Either we've gotten older, or times have changed...
The issue of food costs is very relevant today. A few years ago, when going to the polls, candidates assured that they would return sausage at 2.20. This was almost the first point of their program. Now the situation has changed a little, but the prices of the 70-80s in the Soviet Union cause nostalgia for some, and irritation for others.
There is a constant comparison between those prices and modern ones. This does not take into account the level of wages and the cost of products, which have increased many times over due to world prices for petroleum products and fertilizers. And if you consider that all agriculture was subsidized, then the prices in stores and on the market become understandable.
It should also be noted that there were at least three categories of supply. The capital was provided with everything. Industrial centers fell into the first category. Their stores always had a lot of different goods. In regional centers and big cities the choice was limited. Provision of small towns, regional centers and, especially, villages was carried out on a residual basis. Today, many people remember how they went to industrial centers to buy sausage, fish, and canned food. Suburban trains were even called “sausage trains.”
And so imagine, we are in the Soviet Union in the stagnant Brezhnev times. We have to set the table for a family holiday dinner. First, we go to the bread store. We take a white bun for 20-24 kopecks, a rye roll for 16 kopecks, a loaf for 13 kopecks and butter buns depending on the size from 4 to 20 kopecks.
In a meat and dairy store, pork costs 2.00 – 2.20, beef – 1.90 – 2.00, lamb – 1.80. For jellied meat you can get pork legs for 0.32 – 0.60, beef legs for 0.20 – 0.30, chicken legs for 0.90 – 2.30 per kilogram. In the next department we buy milk on tap for 0.22 or in packaging for 0.34 kopecks per liter, a half-liter bottle of kefir for 0.30, having previously returned the empty one for 0.15. On the store display are 400 gram cans of condensed milk for 0.55. Of course, all these products could be purchased on the market, but all this would cost at least twice as much.
Before we go further, let's stop to drink kvass. We will pay 0.03 for a glass, and 0.06 for a glass. Or soda fountains will attract our attention - a glass with syrup is 0.03, without syrup - 0.01. The assortment of ice cream was much smaller than today. It cost customers 0.07 – fruit, dairy – 0.10, cream – 0.13, ice cream – 0.15, popsicle – 0.22.
The "Fish" store will please you, if you're lucky, with live carp 0.75 - 0.80, fresh frozen sturgeon 5.00 - 9.35, but more often frozen hake 0.20 - 0.40, salted herring in bulk 1.30 - 1.54, Ivasi herring - 3.00, sprat 0.30 per kilogram.
In the "Gastronom" in the "Grocery" department, let's try to buy buckwheat - 0.52, granulated sugar - 0.90, flour - 0.46, coarse rock salt - 0.10 per kilogram. A pack of Indian tea cost 0.90, a can of instant coffee cost 6.00.
For confectionery products, we will buy a pack of Strawberry cookies - 0.26 and a pack of Yubileiny - 0.28, Belochka candies - 3.40, Kara-Kum - 4.00, a box of chocolates from 1.90 to 8.26.
For the traditional Olivier salad you need to take boiled sausage 2.20 - 2.60, a jar of mayonnaise - 0.33, a dozen eggs 0.90 - 1.20, a jar of peas - 0.39.
Among canned goods, sardines were popular - can 0.60 - 0.72, canned cucumbers and tomatoes - 0.40 - 0.50.
A student's breakfast most often consisted of a cup of tea, bread and butter, squash caviar for 0.42 or canned food "Tourist's Breakfast" for 0.33.
As for drinks, we give preference to wines: dry Moldavian 2.10 – 2.70, Georgian 3.00 – 4.00, Bulgarian 1.70 – 2.30. Fortified fruit and berry 1.10 – 1.80, grape – 2.30, vintage 2.88 – 4.24. We will spend from 4.40 to 13.60 for Three Stars cognac, 3.50 to 5.00 for vodka 0.5 liters, 3.50 to 5.00 for beer, 0.37 half a liter. The price included the price of a container of 0.12, which could be immediately returned or exchanged with an additional payment for a drink.
The state price of vegetables was as follows:
potatoes 0.12 – 0.15, cabbage 0.08 – 0.10, beets 0.09, onions 0.10-0.12, watermelon 0.05-0.10, apples – 0.20 – 0.50. But, unfortunately, everything in the retail chain was of very low quality. Agricultural products could also be purchased at the collective farm market. The prices were set by the farms, so the cost was 2-3 times higher.
To the question Life in the USSR. Remember Food Sets (orders) for the May 1st Holiday? And what did they include? ..)) given by the author Alexander Kudryavtsev OLD. OTVET the best answer is As I remember right now - a stick of half-smoked sausage (often washed), sometimes delicacy raw smoked, a small jar of red caviar, black was available only to one’s own or a select few, a jar of instant coffee, a jar of squid or “krill meat”, sprats, sometimes a jar of cod liver or 1 kg of buckwheat , a bottle of champagne, 2 cans of condensed milk, a box of chocolates or marshmallows, half a kilo of cheese, and some ordinary goods in a load or glazed cheese curds, if you're lucky, granulated sugar. It seems that's it. No, not everything, I forgot Indian tea with elephants. (this was how it was in Leningrad at that time)
Lara *********
Enlightened
(29642)
It may well be that such sets were issued only in significant cities, and other people never dreamed of this at that time, because the book of complaints was very effective, through it you could reach the Lord God himself, but try something then don’t let a veteran or a disabled person, I also lived in Leningrad at that time, and regarding the sets, I had to see a lot in trade at that time and experience the hard way that it’s better to keep silent about it, and if I talk about it, then only among my own people .
Answer from 22 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Life in the USSR. Remember Food Sets (orders) for the May 1st Holiday? And what did they include? ..))
Answer from ZHAN[guru]
We remember.
Answer from sky color[guru]
festive mood!
Answer from Џ originally from the USSR[guru]
We didn't have any kits. .
They seemed to give gifts to children up to 12 years old..
Answer from Friend of human[guru]
Dry sausage, Indian tea, instant coffee, buckwheat. And to top it off - SEA CABBAGE
Answer from Murzik99rus[guru]
1 kilo of buckwheat is a must.
Answer from Vladimir Z[guru]
A pack of Rigglers gum, a trip to the Canaries and a pack of bucks.
Answer from Bell A Morr[guru]
We didn't have that. Siberia and Siberia in Africa. they fed us well. and not only on holidays.
Answer from Luke***[guru]
In the villages everyone ate their own
Answer from Anatoly Chernov[guru]
I'm ashamed... .
Answer from Praskovya[guru]
This was a hidden form of the so-called “order tables”, where residents with appropriate registration and assigned to a given order table could, with a certain frequency and in limited quantities, purchase certain goods that had disappeared from free sale... .
nomenklatura, artists, thieves, etc.
Answer from KATAFRACTOY[guru]
I don’t remember, I was little. But the package was big.)))
Answer from Yotrannik...[guru]
Dog soup in packs, sausage, a can of mackerel, buckwheat, a pack of cookies, sometimes minced sausage, chocolate...
Answer from Yoasha Balabuz[guru]
I don’t remember that we have such sets in Kharkov. Veterans of labor and war, yes, they gave it. My grandmother received it (she was a labor veteran), but they did not differ from May 1st from any others: a stick of cervelat, 1 kg. buckwheat, a jar of saury or sardines, some plain-looking candies, 1 kg. sugar, a pack of Indian or Ceylon tea. But it wasn’t like that. I worked at a large factory and we didn’t have anything even similar. No, the bosses stole money from the plant management, but we, who were in the smaller departments and workshops, didn’t see a damn thing. Neither the teachers nor the health workers saw those kits; I know for them, because my relatives worked in such areas. I don't know about others. I write what I know for sure.
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